[Locker Room S] Yang Hyo-jin talks about 'Tokyo, that summer memory'... "The best Korea-Japan match of my life"

In the summer of 2021, the women's volleyball team brought joy and emotion to the whole nation.

Overcoming the evaluation of being weak, they united as a 'one team' and succeeded in advancing to the quarterfinals of the Tokyo Olympics.

Although they failed to win a medal for the first time in 45 years since the 1976 Montreal Games as they lost to the powerful Serbia in the bronze medal match, the whole nation applauded the fighting spirit and passion shown by the women's volleyball team.

<Locker Room S> met Hyo-jin Yang, the protagonist of the Tokyo Olympic semi-finals, and recalled the memories of that summer again.

"I had a great desire to do something, but I was really worried. I was sluggish in the previous VNL competition, and something was not clearly established. Still, it could be the last national team stage, and I flew to Tokyo with this mindset. I think it's on."

"I take a lot of pictures at the Olympics, but this Tokyo was a little more special. I thought it might be the last Olympics, so we kept taking pictures of each other inside the stadium, and I think we said, 'Let's take a picture' first."

"It felt like it wasn't sorted out yet. Of course, the opponent is good, but it must feel like we don't have what we have. At the same time, I thought, 'Oh, this is not going to be easy.' I think that's what I was thinking."

The national team's rebound started in the match against Kenya in the second leg of the qualifier.

In the early part of the first set, Kenya's rapid attack was pushed back, and coach Lavarini changed the atmosphere to operational time, and with the attacks of Kim Yeon-kyung, Kim Hee-jin, and Yang Hyo-jin, the national team went down and won three sets to report their first victory at the Tokyo Olympics.

At that time, as the previous game ended late, the national team started the game at 11 pm, and the time to win the game was past midnight and around 1 am.

“The game against Kenya was the turning point. I think I was able to improve my condition a lot. I also found a little bit of confidence. The hardest part was waiting. I don't know the situation, so I ate an energy bar in the locker room so as not to sag, and we talked a lot, telling each other, 'Keep awake,' and I think we kept raising the mood in that way."

The next opponent of the national team that reported their first victory was the Dominican Republic, a powerhouse in Latin America.

It was expected that the match would not be easy as it suffered a devastating defeat by the Dominican Republic in the previous VNL.

As expected, the bak-bing match unfolded.

The national team seemed to be on the brink of victory with a set score of 2-1 until the 3rd set, but they gave up 4 sets and hit the final 5 sets.

In the 9-9 tie, Kim Yeon-kyung jumped up and blocked the opponent's attack alone, followed by a successful sub-ace to bring victory.

14-12, the moment Jung-ah Park put her final attack in, everyone rushed to the court, embraced and rejoiced.

“Because we continued to lose until the very end, I was very worried before the game.

I think like this, but they are a really strong team. We have to do our best to win. We thought that we had to defeat the Dominican Republic unconditionally to pass the qualifier. The next opponent, Japan, probably has a home advantage. Maybe that's why. I think my unnie really kept pushing. I told her to calm down and do it right. Manager Lavarini continued to analyze and met with us often. You can't raise your hand,' he told me."

“When I heard Yeon-kyung’s words, I think I was just thinking that I should do it literally. People who saw it were moved, but we were really restless. ‘Yeah, that’s right. It's over.' (Laughs) And I was thrilled to see myself solving it in the 5th set. When I'm next to Yeon-kyung unnie, I don't score, but I get energy as if I made it together. Receive that energy I think we made a good rhythm. All 12 people must have had the same heart.”

The next opponent of the national team, which crossed the 7th division ridge to advance to the quarterfinals with 2 wins and 1 loss in the preliminary round, was fate's rival Japan. A chance to secure a place in the quarterfinals if they catch Japan. Japan, which had stayed at 1 win and 2 losses, was also in a situation where they had to beat us to continue their hopes of advancing to the quarterfinals. Japan's ace Koga Sarina, who suffered an ankle injury in the previous match, was desperate enough to stand on the court with pain. As a rival of fate, the match was played in a fierce battle. South Korea took the 1st and 3rd sets and Japan took the 2nd and 4th sets, entering the final 5th set. In the close match, Japan took the lead by a two-point gap with Koga's consecutive goals, and was driven to the match point with a score of 12-14. However, the national team did not give up. Park Jung-ah's consecutive goals made a 14-14 deuce equalization, and Japan succeeded in reversing with a penalty. And Park Jung-ah's last attack put an end to the bloody battle. It was a moment of advancing to the quarterfinals of the Olympics for the third time in a row.

“Yes. A lot of people see it and there is a lot of interest in it, so we want to win the Korea-Japan match unconditionally. Until the very end, we even thought, ‘Let’s try something. laugh."

"Honestly, I thought Koga wouldn't be able to play against us. Because of a big ankle injury. But the day before the match, someone saw Koga walking around. So I was like, 'Ah, that's a lie? '

I thought like this, but it really came out. I wasn't embarrassed. I thought it was really amazing. Even though it hurts, I do it. After the end, when I look at the player, my nose is a bit salty."

"I really liked it. It makes me cry when I see it now. In fact, when I came to Korea after the Olympic Games, I never watched a rerun. They did a lot of reruns on TV. But I think I’m really comfortable watching this time. After the match against the Dominican Republic, the atmosphere was really good. What we say is ‘bet on this game. I think I solved the game by trusting and relying on it. I think it was the best Korea-Japan match of my life.”

(Video coverage: Jingu Gong)